Facts
- Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, ordered an investigation into the Peltola campaign, that of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, the Associated Press reported on Thursday, October 29, 2026. Dunleavy posted the order on social media overnight.
- Dunleavy cited a New York Times report. As summarized by the AP, the report said interviews, text messages and documents prepared for a possible lawsuit showed Peltola’s team tried to recruit candidates to split support for the Republican incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan.
- The AP did not identify a specific law underlying the order. Peltola’s campaign did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment on it.
- The dispute centers on a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg. Earlier this year, a top state elections official ruled him ineligible for the primary, finding his filing was made to confuse or mislead voters. The Alaska Supreme Court later ruled he was qualified to run.
- Sullivan Jr. denies running at Democrats’ behest. In June he said he had no contact with Peltola’s campaign, the AP reported. On the ballot, the incumbent is listed as a ‘registered Republican’ and ‘incumbent,’ while Sullivan Jr. has no party affiliation.
- On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told reporters he thinks Peltola ‘should be prosecuted.’ He had earlier posted that she ‘should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done,’ the AP reported.
- At a campaign stop in Soldotna, Peltola, a former congresswoman, called the report a distraction from issues such as Sullivan’s support for the war in Iran.
- Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. No charges have been announced.
Quotes
Gov. Mike Dunleavy wrote that the Times report “reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections,” adding: “Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections.”
Mary Peltola, at a campaign stop in Soldotna, said: “This is just another distraction. It’s another diversion.”
Source Read the Associated Press report on PBS NewsHour here.
Image Rep. Mary Peltola headshot, public domain.
